One of my top goals since I got to MIA in 2013 has
been to expand the airport beyond its longstanding
foothold as the Gateway of the Americas to being a
true global gateway.

infrastructure issues have also led
to their screening systems going
down with increasing frequency.

Consequently, it is time for us to
tackle this issue yet again. We
continue to have a strong working
relationship with our CBP partners,
both locally and in Washington,
and I’m optimistic about a favorable
resolution to our concerns in the
near future.

WHAT PROFESSIONAL
ACCOMPLISHMENT ARE
YOU MOST PROUD OF?

One of my top goals since I got to
MIA in 2013 has been to expand
the airport beyond its longstanding
foothold as the Gateway of the
Americas to being a true global
gateway. I’m proud to say that
we are now well on our way to
reaching that goal. In 2014, we
added seven new international
routes to our network, including
our first destination in the Middle
East (Doha, Qatar), by five-star
carrier Qatar Airways; our first
route to Scandinavia (Helsinki,
Finland); our first service to
Brussels, Belgium, the capital of the
European Union; and our fourth
route to Germany (Munich). We
also strengthened our regional
network with our 10th, 11th and

12th destinations to Brazil (Belem,
Fortaleza and Viracopos) — the
most of any U.S. airport; and
our second destination in Haiti
(Cap-Haitien).

We continued our expansion into
new world regions in 2015 with five
new international nonstop routes,
most notably Istanbul, Turkey — the
historic gateway city on the border
of Europe and Asia; Manchester,
England — our second route to
the U.K.; Monterrey, Mexico; and
Vienna, Austria, another premier
destination in Europe.

In May, German low-cost carrier
Eurowings will begin service
from MIA to Cologne. The route
will mark MIA’s fifth German
destination and our 20th European
destination. SAS also announced
that it will offer new scheduled
nonstop service from Miami to Oslo
and Copenhagen — our 21st and 22nd
routes in Europe — beginning in the
fall of 2016. Coupled with Finnair’s
existing service three times a week
to Helsinki, MIA will then have
nonstop service to three of the five
countries in Scandinavia.

With the goal of attracting first-ever nonstop passenger service
between Miami and Asia, we hosted
the first meeting of the MIA Asia
Task Force in November. Follow-up
meetings with prospective airlines,
designed to demonstrate the
growing demand for nonstop Asian
routes, will take place in 2016.

TELL US ONE THING ABOUT
YOURSELF THAT IS LITTLE
KNOWN AMONG YOUR
COLLEAGUES.

My family is of noble lineage. I am a
member of the College of Nobles of
the principality of Asturias in Spain.

IF YOU WEREN’T IN AVIATION,
WHAT PROFESSION WOULD
MOST ATTRACT YOU?

College president.

WHAT IS YOUR
MANAGEMENT STYLE?

Eclectic, collegial, deliberate but
definitive. Once a decision is made,
I expect it to be carried out with no
excuses. I also encourage my senior
management team to give me sound,
unvarnished advice. But in the end,
I make the final call.

WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE
YOU EVER RECEIVED THAT
HELPS YOU IN YOUR PRESENT
POSITION?

Never walk past a mistake. I learned
that as a young Army officer. If you
see something wrong, say something
or do something. Taking care of
problems early on means you don’t
have to worry about it later when it’s
a bigger problem.